Tuesday, February 07, 2006

God's Politics

Gaines is reviewing the book by that title from Jim Wallis. Long review made short: Wallis's criticism of the right for being stingy and the left for being godless are dead on. But the book has some serious problems with analyzing scripture. His recommendations are far more along the lines of a godful left than a holy middle. If nothing this shows the biases Wallis brought to the table.

I've been thinking about how the spheres of religion and politics are colliding in the US. 1 Corinthians 5:9-12 has this to say:

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.

Once America was a nominally Christian nation. Perhaps then it was appropriate to live by Christian rules. But let's face it, that is no longer the case.

The Christian life is only possible through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. How can you require it from Spiritless people? To do so borders on tyrannical legalism. The church must hold itself to the higher standard, not the world.